The street was opened in 1607. It was formerly called the Rue d'Anjou Dauphine. Its current name comes from the fact that the street is located at the former location of the Hôtel de Nesle.
According to historians, an underground passage going to the Tour de Nesle existed at the no. 13 of the street and was used by Marguerite de Bourgogne to reach the Tour de Nesle.
It is home to the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts and it crosses with the Rue Dauphine. It is in short distance from the Seine and the Louvre Museum.
^Stéphane, Bernard (1998). Petite et grande histoire des rues de Paris [Small and great history of the streets of Paris] (in French). Paris: Albin Michel. ISBN2-226-12059-9.
